Anne AU

Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London's slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep, and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be.

In 48 AD, a fire set by the troops of Julius Caesar destroyed much of the Great Library of Alexandria. But what if the fire had been stopped? What would the library have become? Fast forward: The Great Library is now a separate country protected by its own standing army. Jess Brightwell, 17 years old and very smart, with a gift for mechanical engineering, has been sent into the Great Library as a spy for his criminal family....